2014 AUDI RS7 SPORTBACK warning light

Vehicle care and clean ing
General information
Regular, proper care helps to maintain yo ur
ve hicle 's value. It can also be a requirement
when subm itting wa rranty claims for corro ­
sion damage and paint defects on the body .
The required cleaning and care prod ucts can
be obtained from your authorized Audi dea ler
or a qualified workshop . Read and follow the
i nstructions for use o n the packaging.
A WARNING
-Us ing clea ning and care p rodu cts incor­
rect ly can be dange rous to y our hea lth.
- Always store cleaning and care products
o ut of r each of childre n to redu ce the r is k
of po isoni ng.
@) For the sake of the environment
- Preferably use environmentally-friendly
produ cts when b uying cleaning agents .
- Do not dis p ose of leftover cleaning and
ca re p rod ucts with household trash .
Car washes
-
The longer that deposits such as insects, bird
d rop pings , tree sap o r road sa lt rema in on the
ve hicl e, the more t he surface can be dam­
aged. High tempe rat ures such as those
caused by s unlight in cr ease t he corrosive ef­
fect.
B efore washing, wet heavy deposits w ith ple n­
t y of wate r.
A lso, was h the underside of your ve hicle once
road salt sto ps be ing used fo r the season.
Pressure wa shers
When washing your ve hicles w ith a pressure
washer, always follow the operating instruc­
tions provided w ith the pressure washe r. Th is
i s especially important in rega rd to t he pres ­
sure and sprayi ng di sta nce. Do not aim the
sp ray d irectly at seals on side w indows, doors,
Vehicle care and cleaning 203
t h e hood, the rear lid o r the sunroof * or at
ti res , rubber hoses, insulating material, sen­
sors * or camera lenses *. Keep a d istance o f at
l east 16 inches (40 cm).
Do no t remove snow and ice wi th a pressu re
washe r.
Neve r use ro tary no zzles or high pressure no z­
z les.
T he wate r temperature must not be above
1 4 0 ° F (60 °C) .
Automatic car washes
Spray off the ve hicle before washing.
Make sure that the w indows and roof * are
closed and the winds hield wipers are
off . Fol ­
low instructions from the car wash operator,
especially if there are accessories attached to
you r vehicle.
If possible, use car washes that do not have
brushes .
Only use car washes where the vehicle re ­
mai ns stat io na ry an d the was hing equipmen t
moves around the ve hicle when washing and
drying. Car washes that m ove t he vehicle
thro ugh the car wash using a chain are not
recommended.
Wa shing by hand
Clean t he ve hic le starting from the top and
wor king down us ing a soft sponge or cleaning
brush. Use solvent-free clean ing products .
Washing vehicles with matte finish paint
by hand
To avoid damaging the paint when washing,
first remove dust and large particles from
you r vehicle. Insects, grease spots and fi nger­
pri nts are best removed w ith a spec ial cleane r
fo r matte finish paint .
Apply the prod uct using a microfiber cloth. To
avo id damag ing the pa int surface, do not use
too much pressure.
Rinse the vehicle thoro ughly with water. Then
clean using a neutra l shampoo and a soft mi-
crofiber cloth. ..,.
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204 Vehicle care and cleaning
Rinse the vehicle thoroughly again and let it
air dry. Remove any water residue using a
shammy .
Stubborn deposits such as bird droppings or
tree sap are best removed with plenty of wa­
ter and a microfiber cloth.
A WARNING
-Only wash the vehicle when the ignition
is off and follow the instructions from
the car wash operator to reduce the risk
of accidents .
- To reduce the risk of cuts, protect your­
self from sharp metal components when
washing the underbody or the inside of
the wheel housings.
- After washing the vehicle, the braking ef­
fect may be delayed due to moisture on
the brake rotors or ice in the winter. The
brakes must be dried first with a few
careful brake applications .
(D Note
-If you wash the vehicle in an automatic
car wash, you must fold the exterior mir­ rors in to reduce the risk of damage to
the mirrors. Power folding exterior mir- rors* must only
be folded in and out us­
ing the power folding function.
- To prevent paint damage, do not wash
the vehicle in direct sunlight.
- To reduce the risk of damage to the sur­
face, do not use insect removing spong­
es, kitchen sponges or similar items.
- Matte finish painted vehicle compo­
nents :
- To reduce the risk of damage to the
surface, do not use polishing agents or
hard wax.
- Never use car wash cycles that apply
protective wax.
It can destroy the
matte finish effect.
- Do not place any stickers or magnetic signs on vehicle parts painted with matte finish paint. The paint could be
damaged when the stickers or magnets
are removed.
@) For the sake of the environment
Only wash the vehicle in facilities specially
designed for that purpose. This will reduce
the risk of dirty water contaminated with
oil from entering the sewer system.
Cleaning and care information
When cleaning and caring for individual vehi­
cle components, refer to the following table.
The information contained there is simply rec­
ommendations. For questions or for compo- nents that are not listed,
refer to an author­
ized Audi dealer or a qualified workshop. Also
follow the information found in~& .
Cleaning exterior
Component Situation Solution
Wiper blades
D irty ~ page 49, Cleaning windshield wiper blades
Headlights/
Dirty Soft sponge with a mild soap solutiona>
tail lights
Sensors/
Dirty Sensors: soft cloth with a solvent-free cleaning product
camera lenses Camera lenses: soft cloth with an alcohol-free cleaning
solution
Snow/ice Hand brush/solvent-free de-icing spray
Wheels Road salt
Water
Brake dust Acid-free special
cleaning solution

206 Vehicl e c are and cle aning
Component Situation Solution
Tex tile s,
Stains adhering to Vacuum cleaner
Vin yl, the surface
A lcan ta ra Water -based stains Absorbent cloth and mild soap solutiona>
such as coffee, tea,
blood, etc.
O il-based stains Apply a mild soap solutiona >, blot away the d issolved oil
such as oil, make- or dye, treat afterward w ith water, if necessary
up, etc.
Special stains such Special stain remover, blot with absorbent material,
as ballpoint pen, treat afterward with mild soap solutiona >, if necessary
na il polish, latex
pa int, shoe polish,
etc.
N atu ral l eathe r Fresh stains Cotton cloth with a mild soap solution a>
Water-based stains Fresh stains: absorbent cloth
such as coffee, tea, Dr ied stains: sta in remover suitable for leather
blood, etc.
Oil-based stains Fresh stains: absorbent cloth and stain remover suitable
such as oil, make- for leather
up, etc. dried stains: Oil cleaning spray
Special stains such Stain remover suitable for leather
as ballpo int pen,
na il polish, latex
paint, shoe polish,
etc.
Care Regular
ly apply conditioning cream that protects from
light a nd penetrates into the material. Use specially-col-
ored conditioning cream, if necessary.
Carbon part s Dirty Clean tlhe same way as plastic parts
a) Mil d soap so lution : m ax im um two ta b les poons neu tral soa p in a lite r of wate r
& WARNING
The windshie ld may not be treated with
water-repe lling windshield coating agents.
Unfavorab le conditions such as wetness,
darkness, or low sun can result in in­
creased glare. W iper blade chatter is also
possible .
(V Note
-Headlights /tail li ghts
- Never clean headlights or tail lights
w ith a dry cloth or sponge. - Do not use any cleaning product that
contains alcohol, because they could
cause cracks to form.
-W hee ls
- Never use any paint polish or other
abrasive mater ials.
- Damage to the protective layer on the
rims such as stone chips or scratches
must be repa ired immediately.
- Sen sor s/c ame ra len ses
-Never use warm or hot water to re-
move snow or ice from the camera
le ns. This could cause the lens to crack . ""

Checking and filling Engine hood
Releasing the engine hood
The engine hood is released from inside the
vehicle .
Fig. 186 Dr iver footwell: release lever
Fig. 187 Rocker switch under the hood
Make sure the wiper arms are not raised up
from the w indshield. Otherw ise the paint
could be damaged.
.. Pull the lever under the instrument panel in
the d irect ion of the arrow~
fig. 186.
.. Raise the hood slightly~ &-
.. Press the rocker switch under the hood up­
ward
~ fig. 187. This re leases the catch .
.. Open the hood .
A WARNING
Hot engine coo lant can burn you.
- To reduce the r isk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coolant escaping from the engine
compartment . Wait until no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care­
fully opening the hood.
Checkin g and fillin g 213
Working in the engine compartment
Be especially careful whenever you work in
the engine compartment.
W hen ev er y ou must p erform an y wor k in the
en gine com pa rtm ent , for e xample checking
a nd filling diff ere nt fluid s, th ere is a risk of
inju ry, burn s and accid ents. To pr eve nt p er­
so nal inju ry always observ e the foll owing
W ARNING S. The engin e compartm ent of any
v e hicle i s a haza rdou s area
~ ,& .
h WARNING
To help avoid injury, before yo u check any ­
thing under the hood:
- Turn off the engine.
- Sw itch off the ignition.
- Apply the parking brake.
- Move selector leve r to P (Park).
- Always let the engine cool down. Hot
components w ill burn skin on contact .
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coo lant escaping from the engine
compa rtment. Wait unt il no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care­
fu lly opening the hood.
- Keep ch ildren away from the engine com­
pa rtment.
- Never sp ill fluids on hot engine compo­
nents . They can cause a fire .
- Never touch the rad iator fan. The auxili­
ary electric fan is temperat ure controlled
and can switch on suddenly .
- Never open the coolant reservoir cap
when the engine is still warm. The cool­
ant system is p ressu rized and hot cool­
a nt cou ld spray o ut.
- Protect your face, hands and arm from
steam or hot engine coolant by plac ing a
thick rag ove r the cap when you open the
coo lant rese rvoir.
- Do not remove the engine cover under
any circumstances. This inc reases the
ris k of burns.
- If work on the fue l system o r the elec tri ­
cal system is necessary:

Checking and fillin g 215
Engine compartment
Engine compartment overview
These are the most important items that you can check.
Fig. 188 Typical l ayout for conta iners and engine o il filler cap
@ Jump start poin t(-) with hex
head screw .. .. ..... ... .. .. . 226, 264
@ Jump start point(+) under a cov-
er .. .. ... ..... ...... ...... 226, 264
@ Brake fl uid reservo ir ((0)) . . . . . 22 2
© Engine oil filler cap ("1:::r.) . . . . . 218
® Coolant expansion tank (-L) . . . 220
© W indshield/headlight washer
container
(0) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
_& WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
Q .&. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 213.
-
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine in your Audi needs the right kind
of oil.
T he eng ine in your Audi is a sophisticated
powerplant that was built to exacting specifi­
cations. This eng ine needs the right k ind of
engine oil that meets specifications regarding
quality and viscosity so that it can r un
smooth ly and reliably. Choosing the right o il
and changi ng oil within the t ime and mileage
in tervals p rin ted in you r vehicle's Wa rranty
&
Maintenance booklet matters a lot more to­
day than it did years ago . Audi has deve lope d
a specia l quality sta ndard for engine oil t hat
will help assure that your vehicle's engine w ill
get the lubrication it needs for proper opera­
tion.

fig. 188. With a cold engine, the coolant
lev el should be between the "min" and
"max" markings. When the engine is warm,
the level may be slightly above the "max"
marking .
The location of the coolant expansion tank
can be seen in the engine compartment illus ­
t ration
<=> page 215.
To obtain an accurate reading , the engine
must be switched
off.
The expansion tank in your vehicle is equipped
with an electric coolant level sensor.
When the coolant level is too low, the warning
light in the Auto-Check System<=>
page 15 will
illuminate until you add coolant and the level
has been restored to normal. Even though
there is an electric coolant level sensor, we
still recommend you check the coolant level
from time to time .
Coolant loss
Coolant loss may indicate a leak in the cooling
system. In the event of coolant loss, the cool­
ing system should be inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer. It is not
enough merely to add coolant .
In a
sealed system, losses can occur only if
the boiling point of the coolant is exceeded as
a result of overheating.
&_ WARNING
-
The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of scald­
ing from hot coolant by following these
steps.
- Turn
off the engine and allow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by covering the
cap with a large, thick rag.
- Turn the cap slowly and very carefully in
a counter-clockwise direction while ap ­
plying light, downward pressure on the
top of the cap.
Checking and filling 221
-To avoid being burned, do not spill anti­
freeze or coolant on the exhaust system
or hot engine parts. Under certain condi­
tions, the ethylene glycol in engine cool­
ant can catch fire .
(D Note
Do not add any type of radiator leak seal­
ant to your vehicle 's engine coolant. Add-
ing radiator repair fluid may adversely af­
fect the function and performance of your
cooling system and could result in damage
not covered by your New Vehicle Limited
Warranty.
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant.
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS <=>.&. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 213.
"'Turn off the engine.
"'Let the engine cool down .
"' Place a thick rag over the coolant expansion
tank
<=> page 220, fig. 191 and carefully
twist the cap counter-clockwise <=>_& .
"'Add coolant mixed in the correct ratio
<=> page 220, Coolant.
"'Twist the cap on again tightly.
Replacement engine coolant must conform to
exact specifications <=>
page 220, Coolant.
We recommend using only coolant addi-
tive G12++, G13 or in an emergency G12+. Do
not use a different additive. In an emergency
use plain water until you can get the correct
additive and can restore the correct ratio. This
should be done as soon as possible.
If you have lost a considerable amount of
coolant , then you should add cold antifreeze
and cold water only when the engine is cold.
Always use
new engine coolant when refilling.
Do not fill coolant above the "MAX" mark. Ex -
cess coolant will be forced out through the ..,.
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222 Checking and filling
pressure relief valve in the cap when the en ­
gine becomes hot.
.&_ WARNING
- The cooling system is under pressure and
can get
very hot. Reduce the risk of
sca lding from hot coolant by following
these steps .
- Turn off the eng ine and a llow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escap ing flu id and steam by cover ing
the cap with a large , thick rag .
- Tu rn the cap slowly and
very carefully
in a counter -clockwise direction while
applying light, downward pressure on
the top of the cap .
- To avo id being burned, do not sp ill an­
tifreeze or coolant on the exhaust sys­
tem or hot engine parts. Under certain
conditions, the ethylene glycol in en­
g ine coolant can catch fire.
- Antifreeze is poisonous. Always store an­
t ifreeze in its original container and well
out of the reach of children.
- If you drain the coolant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a proper con­
ta iner clearly marked "poison".
(D Note
- Coolant po llutes the environment and
could cause an engine fire. Excess coo l­
ant will be forced out through the pres­
sure relief valve i n the cap when the en­
gine becomes hot .
- If, in an emergency, only water can be
added, the correct ratio between wate r
and antifreeze ~
page 220 must be re­
stored as soon as possib le.
@) For the sake of the environment
Dra ined coolant should not be reused . Al­
ways dispose of used coolant while
observ­
ing all environmental regulations .
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself .
An auxilia ry electric r adiator fan switches on
and off depending on coolan t tempera ture
and other vehicle operat ing condit ions .
After you switch the engine off, the aux iliary
fan can continue running for up to 10 minutes
- even w ith the ignition off . It can even swi tch
on aga in later by itself
c> .&. , if
- the temperature of the engine coo lant rises
due to the heat build-up from the engine in
the engine compartmen t, or
- the engine compartment heats up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
.&_ WARNING ,_
- To reduce the risk of personal injury nev­
er touch the radiator fan .
- The auxiliary electric fan is temperature
controlled and can sw itch on suddenly
even when the engine is not running .
- The auxiliary radiator fan sw itches on au­
tomatically when the engine coo lant
reac hes a certain t emperature and wi ll
continue to run until the coolant temper­
a ture drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
Fi g. 19 2 Engin e compart ment: cover on t he bra ke fluid
re servoir
Ill>

Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
always r ead and heed all W ARN­
ING S ~ A in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 213.
.. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir ¢
fig. 192, ~ page 215,
fig . 188.
The brake fluid level must be be ­
tween the "MIN" and "MAX" markings.
The location of the brake fl uid reservoir can be
seen in the engine compartment illustration
¢page 215.
The fluid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the brake pads . This is not cause for alarm .
If the brake fluid level falls considerably be­
l ow the "MIN" mark, the brake wa rning/indi ­
cator light
1111 (U .S . models)/ . (Canadian
models) will come on
~ page 14. Do not con­
tinue to operate the vehicle. The comp lete
brake system shou ld be thoroughly checked
by an authorized Audi dealer or other quali­
f ied fac ility and the cause corrected . If the
b rake fluid level is too low, the brake warn ing/
i ndicator light w ill illuminate . Contact an au­
thor ized Audi dealer
imm ediately .
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experi­
enced technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the a ir . If
the water content in the brake fluid is too
hi gh, cor rosion in the brake system may result
after a per iod of t ime . The bo iling po int of the
b rake fluid w ill also decrease considerab ly and
decrease braking performance.
Therefore, the brake flu id must be changed
ev ery two ye ars. A lways use new b rake fluid
which confo rms to Federal Motor Vehicle
Standard "FMVSS
116 DO T 4".
The brake flu id rese rvoi r ca n be difficult to
r each, therefo re , we recommend that yo u
h ave the brake fl uid changed by you r autho r­
i zed
Audi de aler . Your dea le r has the correct
Checkin g and fillin g 223
tools, the right brake fl uid and the know -how
to do this for you .
A WARNING
-Brake flu id is poisonous. It must be stor­
ed only in the closed or iginal container
out of the reach of children!
- Brake failure can resu lt from o ld or inap­
propriate brake f lu id. Observe these pre­
cautions:
- Use only b rake fluid tha t meets SA E
spe cificat ion
J 17 03 and conforms to
Federa l Moto r Ve hicl e Standard
116.
Always check with your authorized Audi
dealer to make sure yo u are using the
correct brake fluid. The correct type of
brake f luid is also ind icated on the
brake f luid reservoir .
- The brake fluid must be new. Heavy use
of the brakes ca n cause a vapor lock if
the brake fluid is left i n the system too
long. This can se riously affect the effi­
c iency of the b rakes as well as your
safety , T his could result in an accident.
(!) Note
Brake fluid will damage the paint of your
vehicle.
@) For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal
of brake fluid as well as the spec ial too ls
r equired and the necessary expertise, we
r ecommend that you have th e brake flu id
changed by you r autho rized Aud i dea le r.
Battery
General information
Under normal operating cond itions, the bat­
tery in your Audi does not need any ma inte­
nance . With
high outside temperatu res or
lo ng da ily drives we recommend that you have
the e lectrolyte leve l che cked by a se rv ice fa­
c il ity. The ele ctroly te leve l should also be
chec ked each t ime the battery is cha rged
~ page 226 . Iii>
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